Dave Van Horn says Tavian Josenberger is 100% healthy

Arkansas got a big boost atop its lineup Friday when Tavian Josenberger made his return from injury against South Carolina. Head coach Dave Van Horn previously hinted Josenberger could make his way back, but afterward, he confirmed the decision was more than just whether or not he could play.

He’s fully healthy once again.

“He’s 100%,” Van Horn said. “If he told me 90 [percent], I wasn’t going to play him … because it’s not worth it.”

Van Horn also said Josenberger had the steal sign at one point, but stayed put. However, he still looked good when he ran in his first game back from a hamstring injury as he went 1-for-2 with two walks. His return is quite the boost for Arkansas considering he ranks fourth on the roster with a .324 batting average entering Saturday’s second game against South Carolina.

By drawing those walks, Van Horn said Josenberger helped increase the pitch count, which was huge as Arkansas got the 4-1 win.

“We gave him the steal, he didn’t go for a pitch or two,” Van Horn said. “I gave him the green light, basically. ‘You could go if you feel good about it.’ And I think once he ran again, he’s 100%. I feel like he brought a spark, he walked at least two times, he got a hit. Didn’t score a run, but he was eating up some pitches and he got on base.”

Arkansas got a huge day from Kendall Diggs, who had three RBI to help propel the Razorbacks to the victory to improve to 37-12 overall and 18-7 in SEC action. They have two games left against South Carolina before rounding out the regular season against Vanderbilt.

But Arkansas is still waiting on more players to get healthy as the regular season wraps up. Jared Wegner and Peyton Stovall are also dealing with injuries, and Van Horn previously said Wegner could be on the roster as he comes back from a fractured thumb and got his pins out. Stovall, however, wasn’t doing as well and likely won’t be back for the series against South Carolina.

“Wegner, obviously, got his pins out on Monday,” Van Horn said ahead of the weekend set against the Gamecocks. “Thumb’s still pretty sore. He’ll be on the roster. Still not sure about playing yet. Not swinging the bat with the team at all yet. Probably highly unlikely this weekend.

“Stovall, shoulder’s not doing great, so probably not going to, as of now, put him on the roster,” Van Horn said. “We’ll see how that goes.”